Mind the gap
Plastic Waste Swims Between Values and Reality
Why do many people, companies and institutions find it so difficult to translate proven knowledge and the resulting convictions into concrete action? Why do people often not do what they consider to be right, and why do habits often seem to be more important than the future of coming generations?
The seventh POLYPROBLEM report, “The Gap in the Mind – Plastic Waste Swims Between Values and Reality,” deals with the causes and effects of the so-called intention-behavior gap.
The socio-ecological transformation is also faltering because the diffuse fear of changing lifestyles in the present often seems to be stronger than the concern about much more drastic changes in the future. The general political climate seems to confirm this: populists are also on the rise because they promise the illusion of a future without change – even to the point of denying scientific facts.
We spoke about the gap between action and conviction with internationally renowned experts from science and business, including the prominent British economist Tim Jackson, and with practitioners from civil society organizations.
The finding: The path from a linear to a circular economy is not only an individual psychological challenge. It is also a systemic problem: the more efficient, the more optimized, the more scaled systems are developed, the more effort it takes to overcome them – and the less this overcoming is merely a question of financial resources. In other words, money and good business ideas alone are not enough to bring about the transition to sustainable living and business.
Read about the six levers that are effective in overcoming the intention-behavior gap in this issue.
Click here to download the seventh POLYPROBLEM report.
Under the title POLYPROBLEM, the non-profit Röchling Foundation and Wider Sense are combining various information and networking offers that should contribute to better cooperation in solving this global challenge. These include studies, webinars, workshops and excursions.
